Terrifying 3-D model shows what we'd have to look like to survive bad car crashes

Meagan Morris is an entertainment and lifestyle journalist living in New York City. In addition to SheKnows, Morris contributes to many publications including The New York Times, Yahoo! News, PopEater, NBC New York and Spinner. Follow he...

We'd look a whole lot different if our bodies were made to survive car accidents

Anyone who has been injured in a car accident knows that seatbelts and airbags definitely help, but they aren't 100 percent able to keep us safe on impact. Nearly 1.3 million people die each year from injuries sustained in crashes, mostly because our bodies — for all their amazing strength and abilities — can't win in car vs. human fight.

"The truth is, our cars have evolved a lot faster than we have," David Logan, a team member with Australia's Transport Accident Commission in Melbourne and road safety engineer at the Monash University's accident research center told Road & Track. "Our bodies are just not equipped to handle the forces in common crash scenarios."

To further prove that point, the organization worked with trauma surgeons, a car crash expert and an artist to create a model of a human that's car crash-resistant.

The model — named Graham — has a huge bulbous head, a concave face, no neck, thicker skin and air pockets around his ribs. His lower ankles have extra joints, making it easier for him to jump out of the way of oncoming vehicles, and his knees are extra flexible to allow for extra impact.

You can learn more about him in this video produced by the TAC.

Graham might not be the most pleasing thing to look at, but he does serve a shocking purpose — to show us just how important it is to pay attention to our safety on the roads and sidewalks. We might not have his protective body, but being more cognizant of road safety — no texting, always wear your seatbelt, etc. — can do a lot to reduce accidents.

And you know what? He gets cuter the longer you look at him. This might not be a horrible way to evolve, especially if it keeps people alive.